The day before we met a guy who said we had to go to Glacier Point. So we did some research the night before, stopped at Judy's Donuts in the morning, and went straight to Glacier Point Road. Surprisingly it was the straightest, most level road in the whole park. LOL
We drove all the way to the end of the road at Glacier Point. A paved path takes you to a scenic overlook 3,214 feet down to Yosemite Valley.
A hotel was built here on this site in 1918. Snow was often a problem and the hotel was heavily damaged by a heavy snowfall in the winter of 1968-69. On July 9, 1969 an electrical fire destroyed the hotel and the nearby Mountain House.
The view was gorgeous! We could see Vernal Falls where we hiked the first day and we also noticed Nevada Falls above it. I almost wish we had done it. Almost... ;)
Vernal Falls (lower left) and Nevada Falls (upper right)
Every time we walked to a new place, the view just seemed better...
Geology Hut
Then we realized there were climbers on Half Dome...
Royal Arches
Yosemite Valley
Vernal & Nevada Falls
It's no surprise, but they don't let you out on Overhanging Rock anymore. :/
On the way back down the road, we stopped by another viewpoint with even more views!
The next stop was to find parking at the Sentinel Dome trailhead. There wasn't any real parking but we got a space at the end of a ditch. Thank goodness for 4-wheel drive. It was a pretty easy hike, although at first it seemed like there was no trail at all...
We met a few people heading back. We had a "Jesus talk" with one couple, were warned about yellowjackets by a little girl,and were told there was a bear in a tree near the trail by a couple of guys. We looked in all the trees we passed and didn't see a thing until we approached the base of the dome and saw a huge group of people. Sure enough.... Wherever there is a mass of people there is sure to be a bear.
Poor guy. I think he really wanted to get out of there but there were so many people and screaming kids. :(
So I took my picture and we continued around to the other side of the dome where the incline was less steep and we made our way up to the top...
Once again, the views were spectacular! From up there you really grasp how big and creative God is and how small we are...
Upper Yosemite Falls
the trail we walked up
It was quite a hot day, so we drove back down into the valley for a swim in the Merced. We found a little spot and enjoyed a nice refreshing dip...
Since we needed to have a decent dinner, we headed back to Wawona for one more short hike. It felt a bit odd to drive through a one-lane road through a neighborhood inside a National Park. At one point we weren't even sure we were on the right road. But eventually we got to the trailhead. It was the right spot.
Not only was there a honest-to-goodness swinging bridge, but there was a natural waterslide and swimming hole! What a super fun place!
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